Known as the financial centre of Continental Europe, the Frankfurt region is the perfect starting environment for startups. The region has a long history of innovation, like being home to the world’s first airline and it is not surprising that it is home to a fast-growing startup hub (not only in the FinTech area).
The greater Frankfurt areas strengths lie in the decentralization. Every area in FrankfurtRheinMain has its specialty in a different field and owns major expertise. From the European Space Operations Centre of ESA in Darmstadt through to the financial hub Frankfurt and the knowledge of the research-heavy universities in the cities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Mainz. Indeed a lot of startups have close partnerships with universities, provide internships for undergraduates, and are willing to incorporate talents straight from universities.
The great number of large companies located in FrankfurtRheinMain (like Merck KGaA, Sanofi, Schott, Opel or Fresenius) is also a big advantage for the startup environment. Next to the financial scene, companies are an important capital source and potential cooperation partners, as well as trainers and mentors for young entrepreneurs.
Many established international companies are choosing Frankfurt as their first location in Europe to set up branches and enter the European market. Recently Bareburger, Five Guys, Chipotle and WeWork acted that way, to name just a few.
The FrankfurtRheinMain is home to many successful managers, investors and serial entrepreneurs being able to invest in startups. Added to this Germany’s largest business angel associations, many private equity and venture capital funds are headquartered here. Accelerators and incubators can provide support and good opportunities for further development of the businesses from an early stage on. The greater Frankfurt area offers different options with different focusses, so each startup can choose the one that fits best their needs and industry.
All those factors led to a very active FrankfurtRheinMain startup community. With round 50% year-on-year growth, it is getting more and more importance within the region.
Within the community various events, meetups and congresses with different emphasis take place almost every week. To keep track of those startup-related events take a look at StartupDigestFrankfurt-Rhein-Main, HalloFrankfurt or Rhein-Main Startups. Regular events are:
- PitchClub
- Founders Table Frankfurt: Monthly meeting of local startups
- Open Coffee Club: Local chapter of the open coffee club. Breakfast once a month where startups and investors meet each other
- Gründerfrühstück Wiesbaden: Regular breakfast for founders in the Wiesbaden region
- FinTech in and around Frankfurt
- Ethereum Meetup Central Germany
- Events, festivals, conferences
If you want to look behind the scenes of FrankfurtRheinMain’s startup and innovation ecosystem, you should definitely not miss the next „Startup Safari FrankfurtRheinMain“: Once a year, interested people are getting the chance to visit the whole scene. Be there when startups, companies, incubators and accelerators open their offices, coworking spaces or rooftop terraces for visitors – in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Mainz, Offenbach and Wiesbaden.
Welcome to Frankfurt RheinMain - A region that is home to the world 